Tucson, Arizona:
Eight or more greyhounds died of heatstroke while in transport from Tucson
Greyhound Park (TGP) to the racetrack in Juarez, Mexico. Kennel operator
and trainer Jesse Burgess left the Tucson track at approximately 8:00
a.m. on Monday, June 20, with 35 greyhounds crammed into a 10-hole hauler
meant to hold 20. After a five to six hour 350-mile drive and a delay
of more than six hours at the border caused by a paperwork error, Burgess
finally drove to a kennel near El Paso, arriving at 8:30 p.m. According
to initial reports, six greyhounds were dead on arrival at the kennel
and two more were dead the following morning.

During a June 22 interview
in Tucson with state steward Eddie Rosano, Burgess, who has been in the
dog racing business for 18 years, claimed he was unaware of the Arizona
Department of Racing's (DOR) two-dog-per-crate [or hole] regulation, which
went into effect in 1995. The transport regulation also requires that
greyhounds in hauling vehicles must be walked and given water once every
four hours. Burgess did neither.

Although the hauler was air-conditioned,
Burgess admitted that one air-conditioning unit was insufficient for the
number of dogs. The dogs had been confined in the hauler for more than
12 hours with outside temperatures above 100 degrees and were not given
water until they were unloaded.

"I've never had anything
like this happen," Burgess said. "The people at the kennel [track
compound] who loaded the dogs should've known the rules," he said.
Burgess, who claimed he did not load a single dog, said David Romo, TGP's
Racing Secretary, and Aaron Larriva, the assistant racing secretary, and
others, loaded the dogs.

Death Toll Rises
The death toll rose after the El Paso Times July 6 published information
received from Jose Maria Guardia, the owner of the Juarez Racetrack, stating
that ten greyhounds, not eight, died as a result of the lengthy confinement
in the overheated hauler.

According to Guardia, the dogs
were taken to the farm of Eddie Gauvin, located in Fabens, Texas, roughly
35 miles south of El Paso. Gauvin, a former greyhound trainer, discovered
later that night that eight dogs were dead; two more died during the night.
The surviving dogs were taken to Juarez after Guardia received the corrected
pap-erwork from the Tucson track.

Burgess Hearings
The TGP Board of Steward's held a hearing for Burgess June 23 and summarily
suspended his license for 60 days and fined him $500, the maximum penalty
for rule violations. Mike Brimmer, DOR's chief state steward, said Burgess
had failed to "provide adequate care of the greyhounds," but
added there was "no malice or intent involved." After the stewards
ruling, TGP permanently terminated its contract with Burgess. The case
was referred to DOR Director Geoffrey Gonsher.

Burgess appeared before Gonsher
at a director's hearing held Aug. 11 in Phoenix. In his four-page ruling,
Gonsher stated, "The evidence clearly shows that from the overloading
in Tucson to the deaths in Texas, no proper care was given to the greyhounds."
Gonsher suspended Burgess' license for two years, followed by two years
probation, and ordered him to perform 40 hours of animal-related community
service before license reinstatement would be considered.

Industry Response
The National Greyhound Association (NGA) June 27 posted a press release
on the American Greyhound Council's website "strongly advising our
members not to ship any more greyhounds to Juarez until some important
animal welfare concerns have been addressed." The NGA is expected
to rescind its advisory after a new animal welfare plan at the Juarez
track is fully developed and implemented. The plan is being prepared by
Greyhound Pets of America, the industry's adoption program.

The Juarez issue has polarized
the nationwide adoption community.The nation's oldest and largest advocacy
and adoption groups vehemently oppose the shipment of graded-off greyhounds
bred in the United States to a third-world country with no animal protection
laws.

Epilogue
According to information obtained by the Greyhound Protection League (GPL),
the following six greyhounds are known to have died on the Juarez haul:
Ein's Kia, a black female born November 2002; Fashion Leader, a white
and red male born February 2002; HC's Big Boy, a white tick brindle male
born June 2002; Haileys Dancer, a brindle female born July 2001; Kid's
Noname, a red brindle male born March 2002; and TF Hooked Up, a brindle
female born August 2002.

GPL is tracking the greyhounds
sent to Juarez. For information about the dogs, visit GPL's website at
www.greyhounds.org and click on "Juarez Watch."

According to information GNN
received from Tony Fasulo, newly appointed chief operating officer at
Tucson Greyhound Park, there were 104 greyhounds at the Juarez Racetrack
as of Sept. 12. Fasulo is also the director of racing at Juarez.